Dominic
by Iris magic
Summary: Sumdac has a new chief of security, and Megatron has an interest in him... No OC's, just wait and see.


Title: Dominic

Disclaimer: Not me, not mine, Hasbro has them now, don't sue.

Rating: R for a couple of nasty situations.

Author statement: Homophobes, go away. Also, this story is AU TFA, somewhere after Sumdac was rescued. Feedback, including typos and corrections pointed out, is welcomed.

Megatron checked his internal chronometer again. Lockdown was late again. How low the Decepticon empire has fallen for him to end up doing supply runs by himself...

"Freedom!" Something flew past his face, then bounced back up, and down again.

"What the..." Megatron found himself staring into the face of a dark-haired human, who apparently jumped from a nearby bridge with his legs tied to an elastic cable. The human gave Megatron a stunned look, then started laughing, and did so until he was freed from the harness.

"Dominic Starr, that's what." Someone grouched near his feet. The Decepticon looked away from the almost-suicide and saw that Autobot loving what's-his-name Fanzone or something. It took him a moment not to step on the human on sight. The winning arguement was that watching the bridge-jumper was more interesting than washing off organic remains. "Sumdac's newest chief of security. Pretty good one too, 'cause since he started, no experiment has escaped."

"Dominic, is it?" Megatron considered the possibility of recruiting Starr as a potential spy on Sumdac. He was so busy with the thought that he didn't notice the dark look he received from the thrill-lover.

_"You should eat more. Those protein shakes are good for you."_

_"I'm used to reduced rations, Isaac. It will take me time to restore a good intake capacity."_

_"I'm sorry to hear that. Get well."_

Dominic smiled and stretched like a cat. Isaac's idea of a PR campaign included a series of large ad shields, starring him as a model, pardon the pun. Unfortunately, he still looked pale and sickly, so Isaac suggested that he'd catch some tan first. Therefore, Starr carried a blanket to the roof of Sumdac Industries HQ and was currently rubbing some sun lotion into his skin.

"What are you doing?" A metallic voice asked him from behind.

The human jumped in surprise, almost dropped the bottle from the roof and turned around with a murderous glare, only to see Megatron levitating near the edge.

"Oh, it's you. Go away, you're blocking my sun."

"You should be thankful I don't crush you." The warlord commented dryly.

"Thanksgiving isn't due for another couple of months. Until then, do yourself a favor and get lost."

"Or what?" The Decepticon was truly puzzled by the lack of fear in Dominic's voice or posture.

"Or I'll just ignore you and go to jerk off on Lawrence of Arabia or something until you're bored and leave. After all, it's summertime, plenty of sun hours." Dominic stretched again.

Megatron decided to back off this time. This human could prove useful indeed, no need to antagonize him now. Besides, it was too long since someone dared to talk back to him like that. As he took off he pondered on the whereabouts of a certain traitorous Seeker, but that was just for a brief moment.

Once he was out of sight, Dominic fell on his knees and threw up violently, the terror of the encounter finally catching up. He remained in the position for a long time, eyes opened wide, shaking like a leaf, until he felt Sumdac's hands on his shoulders. Unseeing, he allowed himself to be wrapped in a blanket and led inside.

_"You should be more careful."_

_"I won't bow, not to him... no matter how great my fear is."_

_"I just don't want you to get hurt."_

_"I couldn't back off, not after..."_

_"I don't expect you to. Just next time, let me back you up."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Sleep now, and dream of clouds..."_

_Dominic turned face down and fell asleep. Isaac Sumdac sat by his side for a while, concern written on his face._

Megatron approached the sky-scrapper and found Dominic standing on the edge of the roof, arms spread and eyes closed.

"Planning to fly or to fall?" The Decepticon asked.

Starr opened his ember-colored eyes and smiled.

"The closest I can get to flying without wings. Why?"

The warlord transformed into an airborn form.

"Care to go for a ride?"

"Sure, why not." Dominic jumped into the pilot seat. "Keep it open, I want to feel the wind."

"Fine, but if you purge your systems, I'll end you."

Megatron took off slowly, mindful of his precious cargo. Dominic's warm breath and pheromones reached his sensors and set them on edge. The Decepticon pondered on his lover? No, because the Great Megatron was incapable of love. Friend? What, him? Friends with an organic scum? But the human's laughter was sheer music and his wit was sharper then the bite of the Arctic wind, his body free from the fat so many humans accumulated, facial lines almost sharp enough to be mechanic, and his hair was as dark as the space itself. What was stopping Megatron from closing the bulletproof glass lid and to keep the man with him for eternity?

But instead, he set Dominic back at the roof of Sumdac HQ and watched him walk in without a word of goodbye.

_"I'm beginning to suspect you're a technophile, Isaac."_

_"I'm not. I just love my work."_

_"Which happens to be machine-centered."_

_"..."_

_"Don't give me that look. You're very good about what you do. On Cybertron you would've been praised for your work..."_

_"I'm good here, with you."_

_"I belong to no one!"_

_"What have they done to you, to make you so easily offended and fearful?"_

_"Imagine being gang-raped by Blitzwing, then reprogrammed into the abomination you remember me being, before you came along."_

_"I'll kill him for this."_

_"What do you think I've been trying to do all those centuries?"_

All in all, it was a good day. The Elite guards had arrived, disturbing the work of the Autobot bridge crew and allowing the Decepticons to get away with a big loot of spare parts and fuel. On the way back, Megatron run into Starscream, and gave him a sound trashing. A couple of hours later, he tore down a toy store, just to hear the locals run around and scream. Then he noticed something in the rubble. A box with a 3-d F-22 puzzle. That could make a nice gift for Dominic, with his love of flying.

But, when he arrived to Sumdac Industries, the raven-haired human didn't come to the roof to greet him. Megatron knocked almost gently on the wall of the building. Finally, Dominic came out, wearing a hoodie and visibly limping.

"What happened?" The warlord asked, already planning to find and kill whoever was responsible for this.

Starr pulled the hood back and the mech saw the split lip and the bruised cheekbone that the human tried to conceal.

"Ages ago, I was a pilot." Dominic responded, voice hoarse. "I fell for a soldier, a man with a rank and he betrayed me. Turned me over to be a toy for his lackeys, forced me to serve him. I escaped, changed my name and appearance as much as I could. Isaac took me in and helped me recover. I was a wreck at that time, but he didn't give up. And today I felt brave enough to seek the embrace of the skies again. The soldier found me. I barely escaped with my life. So forgive me, but I'm not in a good mood."

"Maybe this will cheer you up?" Megatron offered the box.

Dominic took it with shaking hands and for a few moments appeared deep in thought. Then his face became an emotionless mask, he walked to the roof's edge and threw the gift down. Without an explanation, he marched back into the building, back straight and head held high, as if he'd just saved the world single-handedly.

"I don't understand." The Decepticon leader mused out loud.

"Everybody get it, except for you." A gruff voice sounded behind him. Megatron turned around to see the bridge-crew Autobots staring at him. Ratchet was apparently the one to speak. "And guess what, I strongly suspect you never will."

_"That's a nasty injury you have there. Who would've thought that the injuries of your true form will show on this one?"_

_"I should've been able to outsmart him, to escape unscathed."_

_"Well, I'd prefer for you to stay indoors for a while. The construction of the wind tunnel is about to be completed, and then we'll test those new fuel cells you came up with."_

_"You will, won't you?"_

_"Why would I give up on a stroke of a genius from a man whose company I enjoy?"_

_"You'd be surprised how many would."_

Megatron felt a sting of betrayal. Those two accursed jet-twins stood above him and laughed.

"Dominic sir was right..."

"He was, as usual."

"This one is big..."

"But not smart, angers easily."

"Don't they all?"

So, it was Starr who stood behind the flawless flight and tactics of those two.

"Bested by a human and two factory-made..." The fallen tyrant growled.

"Human? Brother, you is human?" Jetfire sounded shocked.

"Not me, no sir. You brother be human?" Jestorm played along.

"Not me too, me is a jet. You think Dominic might be?"

"Well, he lives with one, maybe Sentinel Prime sir is right and it's contagious?"

"We will ask him. Because if he's human, we is part human as well."

Megatron was far from stupid, but the implication of what the younglings said made his processor sizzle. Was Starr a Transformer?

"Oh, there he is!" One of the twins smiled. "Dominic, you don't believe this. This one said you sir is human!"

"Well, the Bridge crew will arrive soon, so there's no use of drawing on this charade." Dominic's voice came from somewhere nearby. With an inhuman strength he jumped and landed on Megatron's chest.

"You still don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"Remember that soldier I spoke of, the one who hurt me? Well, today I defeated him." A roar of thunder filled the air, warning of the birth of an autumn storm. The brunet looked up and smiled dreamily.

"But..." Megatron felt like his processor was about to melt. "What does this have to do with you bringing me down?"

"The soldier I spoke of is you. You took the skies from me and forced me to seek help from humans."

Finally the pixels fell into a complete picture. The changing moods, the reaction to the jet model, the use of flying Autobots to bring him down.

"Starscream?"

"Dominic Starr. This body is Sumdac tech, built to help my spirit soar."

A gust of wind lifted Dominic's long hair and for a moment, it seemed like he has grown wings, but not his old, metallic ones, but the organic wings of a judging angel.

_"Hold me close, Isaac. My spark no longer warms me."_

_"It shall pass. Your spirit will recover and will match your protoform. Sari fixed it with the key, just in case."_

_"I want to go offline, to be at peace."_

_"Then sleep. I'll stay by your side."_

_And as Dominic's eyes fluttered shut, Sumdac finally dared to caress the handsome face._

_"I think I'll change your hair color to red. Sari could use a second parent."_

_The end._


End file.
